Mixing it Up

October 6, 2008

Yesterday was educational. I pitted my newest Warmachine army build up once against The Legion of Everblight (ugh) and twice against Cryx (finally!). The less said about the former the better (Shredders are fucking gross and I underestimated them greatly), but the latter games were very interesting.

We decided that our first match would be a 750 point game (I had to throw literally everything I had on the table) and the second 500, both under the leadership of Captain Haley. Benching Stryker was a no-brainer considering his poor performance on the field in his first 4 games. Sure, I ended up losing on my own turn, but I learned the following regarding both Cryx and Cygnar:

• Bane Knights, seemingly the core of most Cryx armies, are manueverable, reactive and dangerous. Unless you can take several of them out with one blow, they’ll move past your front line units and strike at the tender heart of your army with impunity. This is what nailed Haley (well, that and my opponent rolled three 6s on damage).
• Cryx’s walking arc nodes need to be the first to go and proved very susceptible to disruption via Stormsmith. They are very fragile, and with the right units, you can pick off their arc nodes at will. In both games against Cryx I had effectively neutered them.
• Trenchers. My god, why had I ignored them for so long. With their Lieutenant and Sharpshooter unit attachment, they are so full of tricks that they are very hard for an enemy to counter. Highlights include sniping Bane Knight unit leaders, plinking arc nodes and tagging solos. Also, the provided an astonishing amount of cover for their entire position when under threat of flanking by cavalry. Put them on a hill and dig them in and you’re golden.
• The Hunter. A perfect replacement for the Charger. In the hands of a Journeyman Warcaster (or even just Marshalled to a Trencher Lieutenant, it’s range and armor piercing capability is the perfect counter to cavalry and walking arc node alike. Since it can be advanced deployed with the Trenchers, it serves as an excellent medium-based defensive unit.
• Stormblades: bloody hapless. The entire unit got wiped out by a single purging Bile Thrall. They’re benched.
• Captain Haley: maybe she just suits my playstyle more. The combination of her Blitz feat and Temporal Barrier spells death to almost anything in her huge 14″ control range. I used chain lightning a lot on bunch up enemy squads, and although I didn’t role that favourably on extra attacks, I look forward to seeing what this particular spell can really do.
• The Centurion: a walking brick wall and magnet for attacks. This heavy ‘jack took a hell of a beating in both games and kept on going. It didn’t deal much damage but it acts as a terrific doorstop.
• Stormsmiths: Worth way more that the 12 points they cost to field. Nothing can hide from them, and they help to cancel out opposing ‘jacks and those shifty Bane Knights. They’ll become a standard.

Next time, a look at the upcoming recruits to my Cygnar force. Better melee options and a whole lot of mercenaries.

Written by kingmob | Filed under: 360, Warmachine |